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Six dead, 14 missing after landslide at Indonesian Papua gold mine
Officials said that torrential rains on Monday forced a halt to the search for Indonesia's 14 missing people in its easternmost region, Papua. A landslide at a gold-mining site killed six workers and injured four others. Abdul Muhari said that the rains were responsible for the landslide on Friday, which struck a small mine operated by residents in the Arfak Mountains of West Papua Province. The authorities will resume their search on Tuesday for the missing following the disaster that engulfed temporary housing used by miners. Yefri Sabarruddin, leader of a 40-person team, which included police and military officers, and recovered five bodies, said that the search was hindered by "damaged tracks and mountains as well as bad climate". He said that it would take 12 hours to travel from the nearest city to the site. The Monday tally has been updated from the earlier figure of 19 missing and one dead. In Indonesia, accidents caused by illegal and small-scale mining have often occurred in areas where minerals are found in remote locations with conditions that are difficult to regulate. The number of fatalities could increase. In September last year, heavy rains caused a landslide that led to the collapse of a gold mine illegal in West Sumatra. In July of last year, another landslide at a gold-mining site on the island of Sulawesi killed 23 people. (Reporting and editing by Ananda Teresia, Clarence Fernandez, and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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China's economic data weakens, causing iron ore to fall
Iron ore futures declined on Monday due to weaker than expected economic data from China, the top steel-making consumer. The day-traded price of the most traded September iron ore contract at China's Dalian Commodity Exchange was 722.5 yuan (US$100.15). As of 0704 GMT, the benchmark June iron ore traded on Singapore Exchange was down 0.71% at $99.35 per ton. Official data released on Monday showed that the growth of China's retail sales and industrial output slowed down in April. A trade war was threatening to slow this momentum. Official data revealed that property investment in China dropped 10.3% from the same period a year ago, after a drop of 9.9% in the previous quarter. Last month, new home prices remained lukewarm as well, signalling a persistent downward pressure despite efforts to stabilize the industry. Data showed that China's crude output of steel in April was down 7% compared to March, but production was still high. Everbright Futures said that the drop in hot metal production, which is typically used as a gauge of iron ore demand to determine whether it's increasing or decreasing, was 8,700 tons per month. They attributed this to blast furnaces being maintained. Steelhome data shows that the total iron ore stocks in China increased by 0.26% per week to 137 millions tons on May 16. According to Mysteel, the number profitable blast furnace steel mills in China increased week-on-week from May 15 to date, thanks to the recovery of finished steel prices. Coking coal and coke both fell by 2.2% and 1.79 % respectively. The benchmarks for steel on the Shanghai Futures Exchange have fallen. The price of rebar, hot-rolled coil and wire rod all fell. Stainless steel also dropped 0.42%. $1 = 7.2142 Chinese Yuan (Reporting and editing by Sumana Dhaniwala, Mrigank Dahniwala).
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Asian petrochemical producers chase ethane gains as margins dwindle
As they struggle with thin margins and a global oversupply of petrochemicals, executives from several Asian companies said that they plan to reconfigure crackers in order to process more Ethane. This will reduce costs and allow them to take advantage of the rising U.S. supply. SP Chemicals, a Chinese company, and YNCC in South Korea are two of the largest cracker operators. Mitsui Chemicals in Japan is researching the use of ethanol to fuel existing crackers. This change will enable operators to maintain flexibility in their feedstocks, with U.S. exports of ethane expected to increase by about 7% by 2025. Ethane is a byproduct from shale gases and it's usually cheaper than naphtha, which is more commonly used. You-Jin Lee, the CEO of South Korea's YNCC, said that it is reevaluating its investment plan to improve cost-efficiency at its crackers. These have run at a minimum utilisation rate of 70-80% this year. Lee said that one way to do this is by increasing the use of ethane. SP Chemicals in China is studying the possibility of increasing ethane usage at its petrochemical facility in Jiangsu Province, eastern China to as much as 90%. Source at east-China naphtha cracker, who refused to be identified because they weren't authorised to talk to the media: "Flexible Crackers will be the most fit to survive when margins plummet." Armaan Ashraf is the global head of Natural Gas Liquids at the consultancy FGE. He was referring to the petrochemical project in the Middle East. PTT Global Chemical, Thailand, will use U.S. ethane at its petrochemical facility as an alternative feedstock, starting in 2029. The company announced this in a report presented at APIC. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported in its report of May 6, that INEOS was building a cracker capable of producing 1.45 million tonnes per year. This is happening because global chemical giants are closing plants due to high costs and low margins. EIA estimates that this project will use up to 75,000 barrels of ethane per day when it becomes operational in mid-2026. An Indian industry source stated that other importers such as India will need to invest in infrastructure, including storage and vessels, to increase the use of Ethane in their plants. For example, ONGC seeks partners to build large ethane carrier ships to ship in 800.000 metric tons of ethane per year starting May 2028, for its Western India petrochemical plants. EIA predicts that U.S. production of ethane will rise to a record 3.1 millions bpd by 2026, up from 2.9million bpd. EIA stated that this will increase U.S. Exports to 540,000 BPD in 2025, and 640,000 BPD in 2026. EIA estimates that Wanhua Chemicals' newly opened cracker in Yantai, eastern China, which can either process ethane, or naphtha will add between 50,000-75,000 barrels per day (bpd) to U.S. demand for ethane this year.
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Pertamina Indonesia is seeking up to 2.8 millions barrels of petrol for July-December. This excludes Singapore supplies
Documents released on Monday showed that Indonesia's Pertamina had issued five tenders to supply nearly 3 million barrels per month of gasoline for delivery between July-December. Two of the bids excluded Singapore from the source of supply. Indonesia may reduce fuel imports from Singapore in order to increase the supply of fuel from the United States, as part of negotiations regarding steep U.S. Tariffs. Documents reviewed by revealed that the state-owned refiner wants to purchase up to 1.6 millions barrels of 90 octane gas per month, for delivery between July-September or July-December this year. The company is also looking for another 1.2 millions barrels of gasoline with 92-octane per month during the same time period. Offers are valid until 30 May. The majority of cargoes are likely to be delivered in Tuban, Tanjung Uban Merak, Semarang Balongan Plumpang. Pertamina Patra Niaga's trading arm did not respond immediately to a comment request. Pertamina is seeking to cancel or delay at least 1,000,000 barrels of gasoline with June loading purchased through a term contract, according to two sources who were familiar with the situation late last week. The sources also said that it was unclear if any seller had accepted the request. LSEG Shiptracking data shows that Indonesia imported an average of 8.4 million barrels per month between January and April in this year.
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Australia's Mineral Resources names Malcolm Bundey the next chair; share prices slide
Mineral Resources, Australia's lithium miner, announced on Monday that it had appointed Malcolm Bundey to the position of non-executive chairman. McClements was replaced after 10 years in the role. The move sent the shares down 9% as part of a wider governance shake-up. Bundey currently serves as the deputy chair of brick manufacturer Brickworks. He previously served as managing director and executive head at packaging solutions provider Pact Group. The mining services provider fell 8.8% to A$24.08, its lowest trading session in almost five weeks. It had fallen as high as 10.2% in the previous session. This made it one of benchmark's worst performing stocks. Grady Wulff is a market analyst for Bell Direct. He said that the lack of mining expertise could have been a factor in today's sell-off. However, he was surrounded by an experienced board and management team. Wulff added, "His extensive management and leadership abilities are what give him his experience and the role he can play." The billionaire-founded company, founded by Chris Ellison, has been working to repair its damaged image after scandals last summer that were linked to its founder and led to the departure of a number of its board members. Wulff stated that the Onslow Iron Ore Project haulage road will be a top priority for the new management because of several incidents that have negatively impacted the performance and success of the project. The company resumed haulage services in March after a week of recovery from a road-train accident.
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Oil prices drop as US and China concerns weigh
The oil prices fell on Monday due to the downgrade by Moody's of the U.S. government's sovereign credit rating, and data from China that indicated a slowdown in industrial production and retail sales. Brent crude futures for the front-month fell 35 cents or 0.5% to $65.06 per barrel at 0440 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate Crude dropped 26 cents or 0.4% to $62.23 per barrel. The front-month WTI contract expires Tuesday, and the more active July contract dropped 31 cents or 0.5% to $61.66 per barrel. Both contracts increased by more than 1% in the last week, after the U.S., China and other major oil-consuming countries agreed to a 90 day pause of their trade war, with dramatically lower import tariffs. Priyanka Sackdeva, a Phillip Nova senior analyst, says that Moody's downgrade has raised questions about the future of the U.S. economic outlook. China's data also indicates a bumpy path for any economic recovery. She said that the Moody's downgrade does not directly impact oil demand, but creates a more sobering market sentiment. Moody's has downgraded U.S. sovereign debt rating due to the growing amount of $36 trillion in the U.S. This could make President Donald Trump's tax-cutting efforts more difficult. China, which is the world's biggest crude oil importer has seen its industrial production growth slow in April. However, it was still better than what economists expected. Beijing and Washington agreed last week to reduce most of the tariffs they imposed on each others' goods. However, Trump's unpredictable attitude and the short-term truce continue to cast a dark shadow on China's export driven economy. It still faces 30% additional tariffs to existing duties. The outcome of the Iran-U.S. nucleus talks is still uncertain, which limits oil price losses. Steve Witkoff, the U.S. Special Envoy to Iran, said that any agreement between the United States of America and Iran should include an agreement that neither party will enrich uranium. This comment was quickly criticized by Tehran. Tony Sycamore, IG's market analyst, said that there was a great deal of hope in those discussions. "Realistically Iran is unlikely to agree to peacefully abandon its nuclear ambitions. It has always insisted that they are non-negotiable." "Iran is less likely to agree to peacefully give up its nuclear ambitions after Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis have collapsed," he said. In Europe, tensions have risen between Estonia and Russia after Moscow detained an oil tanker owned by Greece on Sunday as it left a Baltic Sea port in Estonia. Baker Hughes reported that in the U.S. producers reduced the number of oil rigs operating by one to 473, the lowest level since January. They continued to focus their efforts on cutting spending, which could slow the growth of U.S. crude oil production this year. (Reporting and editing by Florence Tan, Emily Chow and Muralikumar Aantharaman)
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China's crude oil surplus surged in April, as refinery output dipped. Russell
In April, the amount of crude oil that was available in China for storage grew for a second consecutive month. Imports were relatively high while refinery processing declined. According to calculations based upon official data, China's crude surplus amounted to 1,89 million barrels a day (bpd), the highest since June 2023, and an increase from 1,74 million bpd last March. China, which is the world's largest crude importer and has been a major buyer of oil, has bought large quantities of discounted oil, mainly from Iran and Russia, in countries that are under Western sanctions. China does not reveal the volume of crude oil flowing in or out of its strategic and commercial stockspiles. However, an estimate can still be made by subtracting the amount processed from the total crude available through imports and domestic production. According to data released by the government on Monday, refiners processed 14,12 million barrels per day in April. This is down from 14,85 million barrels per day in March, and 1.4% less than one year ago. Crude imports in April were down from a 19-month high (12.11 million bpd) in March. Last month, domestic production fell slightly from its 14-year high (4.48 million bpd) in March. After subtracting the refinery output of 14,12 million bpd, there is a surplus 1.89 million BPD. The surplus crude was 880,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the first four quarters of the year. This is up from the 580,000 barrels per day for the first three months. China's refiners used up their inventories for the first time since 18 months in the first two-month period of 2025. They processed 30,000 bpd per day more than they could get from crude imports or domestic production. The massive surpluses of March and April, however, have reversed this earlier trend. Not all this excess crude has likely been stored, as some is processed in plants that are not included in the official data. Even if you ignore the gaps in official data, there is no doubt that China imported crude oil at a rate far greater than what it needed to meet its domestic fuel needs in March and in April. Options What is the likely trajectory of China's crude oil imports and refinery production in the next few months? Refiners have more options with the large amount of crude oil surplus that has accumulated in recent months. China's refineries are known to buy surplus crude oil when prices are low and reduce imports when prices rise too fast or too high. The increase in imports between March and April is largely due to refiners purchasing Iranian and Russian crude. This was partly because these grades are cheaper than other grades but also partially due to fears that U.S. sanctions against vessels and buyers could be effective. According to commodity analysts Kpler, China's seaborne exports to Russia in April were 1,38 million bpd and in March they were 1,22 million bpd, the highest two months since October of last year when 1.51 million tonnes bpd was imported. Kpler estimated that imports from Iran fell to 743,000 barrels per day (bpd) in April. This was down from 1,39 million bpd, the highest monthly figure since October. If they can find a way to avoid the U.S. sanction, it's likely Chinese refiners would continue to purchase Russian and Iranian crude. It would appear that if the volume of crude they can import from these two suppliers is limited, they will have enough in stock to avoid the risk of driving prices up by importing other sources. These are the views of a columnist who writes for.
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Indonesia searches for 19 missing people following a landslide in a gold mine in Papua
Officials said that 19 Indonesians were missing after heavy rainfall caused a landslide in a gold mining area of Papua. Abdul Muhari said that torrential rains caused a landslide in a small mine operated by local residents on the Arfak Mountains in West Papua Province late Friday night. He added that the landslide killed one person, injured four others and still left 19 people missing. Officials said that at least 40 rescuers, including police and military personnel, had been dispatched to search for missing persons. In Indonesia, accidents caused by illegal and small-scale mining have often occurred in areas where minerals are found in remote locations with conditions that are difficult to regulate. Yefri Sabuddin, head of the local team, said on Monday that the rescuers began the search only on Sunday, because it takes at least 12 hour for teams to reach the site. Yefri stated that "the damaged roads, mountainous tracks and bad weather hindered the rescue efforts." He said that the number of casualties may rise. In September of last year, heavy rains caused a landslide that led to the collapsed illegal gold mine. In July of last year, another landslide at a gold-mining site on the island of Sulawesi killed 23 people. (Reporting and editing by Ananda Teresia)
China's April crude steel production misses expectations
China's crude output of steel in April fell 7% compared to March. This was contrary to analysts' expectations, who expected a rise due to healthy profits and robust sales. However, production remained high.
National Bureau of Statistics data released on Monday showed that the world's biggest steel producer produced 86.02 millions metric tons of crude iron ore last month. This is flat with April of last year and down from March's 92.84million tons.
Calculations based on data suggest that the April volume suggests an average daily production of 2.87 million tonnes, compared to 2.99 million tons in March, and 2.86 millions tons in April 2024.
A survey by consultancy Mysteel revealed that 56% of steelmakers made a profit in the month of April, up from 53% in the previous month.
Analysts say that a decent demand in China, coupled with robust exports, helped to support production last month.
Analysts say that steel mills are eager to increase production after suffering severe losses during the last two years, when demand was hampered by a prolonged property slump. This will likely boost output in May.
China produced 345.35 millions tons of crude iron and steel in the first four month of 2025. This is an increase of 0.4% on the previous year, even though Beijing announced plans to restructure its giant steel industry through output reductions.
Beijing has not revealed essential details, including the timing and the scale of output.
The state-backed China Iron and Steel Association said in a report on May 16, that steel output controls would be most visible in the second half, depending on local government enforcement.
(source: Reuters)